Sometimes the Race Gets Taken Away from the Swift, But They Succeed Anyway

It may be Labor Day, but we still have two On the Square posts for you! Here’s William Doino Jr. on Marty Glickman, one of two Jewish runners who were not allowed to participate in the 1936 Olympics:

The morning of the Olympic trials, as Marty prepared to help secure a spot for his relay team in the finals, he and his teammates were called together by Lawson Robertson and Dean Cromwell, the coach and assistant coach of the US team, respectively. In a grim tone, Robertson announced that he had been informed that the Germans were hiding their best sprinters for the relay event, to upset the heavily favored Americans. Therefore, Marty and Sam Stoller (Glickmans Jewish teammate) would be replaced by Jesse Owens and Ralph Metcalfe, to give the US their best chance. Foy Draper and Frank Wycoff, whom Cromwell had coached at USC, would remain on the revised squad.

Read the whole thing here . Marty Glickman wrote an autobiography, The Fastest Kid on the Block . So here’s one way to spend your Monday off: take a walk to your local used bookstore. Pick up a copy if they have one. Shuffle back home. Read it with your feet propped up and with a gin & tonic in your hand. Continue this process until you either have no more book or no more gin.

Or, I guess, you could do something active, like running. I guess people run for pleasure. I guess that’s a thing people do.